Fed judge rules property rights claims still valid
Thursday, November 13, 2008 12:05 PM PST
MEDFORD (AP) — Voters passed Measure 49 last year to deal with controversial property rights claims from an earlier initiative, Measure 37.
But a federal judge in Medford says the old Measure 37 claims are still valid and constitutionally protected in Jackson County.
U.S. District Judge Owen Panner ruled in favor of Citizens for Constitutional Fairness, which sued Jackson County on behalf of 25 property owners.
Voters approved Measure 37 in 2004 to provide longtime property owners with relief from development restrictions imposed by Oregon land-use laws.
Measure 37 had required counties to issue a waiver from those restrictions or compensate the property owner.
But Jackson County had decided it would not honor waivers under Measure 37 after Oregon voters passed Measure 49 in 2007 to fine tune the law.
Jackson County property owners said they lost $237 million in value under Measure 49.
